The Half Drow
by AlmightyFirebird
Summary: In a small remote corner of the world of Liafyn lies a dark and mysterious forest known as the Raal forest. Within it's unexplored depths lie a community of Dark Elves still on the surface. Within this small community there is one taboo more hated than any interbreeding of Drow and human.
1. Prologue

The Half-Drow

Prologue – Part one: The Hunt

Dark shapes flitted through the trees. Hunting. Ahead their prey was a beacon of light. Light spilled away from the torch held by a young human. Her long hair was slick with sweat and her threadbare tunic stuck to her body clearly showing an enlarged stomach. Another dark shape ran ahead and beside her. As he passed through the torchlight it glinted off his ebony skin and stark white hair. Drow. The woman stumbled and tripped over a stray root. She fell heavily to the ground.

"Katherine!" Shouted the drow. He ran to her, kneeling beside her. "Katherine, you must get up." He said. "They are almost upon us."

"I think I broke my ankle!" She said, terrified. "I can't walk!" As the couple, spoke the dark figures arranged themselves outside the firelight. One of them stepped inside the bright circle. Katherine screamed a wordless cry of fear and agony. The drow standing over Katherine whirled around, drawing his sword as he went.

"Izz'vyll." He said, naming the now visible drow. "I should have known they would send you."

"Come now, Kalan'aonar. This little charade is over. Give us the woman and we may spare your life." Izz'vyll said, hands crossed over his chest.

"Never! I would rather die than betray my love and the child she carries!" Kalan yelled in defiance. He lunged at Izz'vyll, stabbing forward with his slender sword. Izz'vyll slipped out of the way at the last second and drew his own sword.

"Always had to be difficult." He said with a sigh. His blade sliced backhand toward Kalan. There was a ring of steel on steel as Kalan parried the blow and launched into a vicious attack routine. His blade flashed high. To the side. Low. Izz'vyll blocked and parried, their arms blurring with speed. A scream resounded from behind the embattled pair. Kalan whipped around to see several drow circling around Katherine, still on her knees.

"Katherine!" He screamed. A groan escaped his body as hard steel sprouted from his chest. Kalan'aonar fell to the ground, his life escaping him. Izz'vyll huffed as he stepped over the now lifeless Kalan. The drow had surrounded Katherine, holding her up as she struggled to escape. Izz'vyll stalked slowly toward her, the blood of her beloved dripping from the tip of his sword. He stood in front of her sword drooping, debating which form of death pleased him more. Suddenly he lunged forward and stabbed Katherine in the chest. A blood curdling scream ripped itself from her throat at the same time as the child ripped itself from her body. She fell to the ground dead as the baby fell to the ground alive. With her last breath Katherine spoke the name of her child. Kel'zek. Izz'vyll laughed heartily into the night. He crouched beside the tiny half-drow.

"You were fortunate to have a birth at all. Now your pathetic, tainted little life must end." He whispered to Kel'zek. He stood up straight and held his sword over the child, ceremoniously positioning it for a killing blow. He thrust the sword downward and a second before the blade spit Kel'zek's flesh there was a fiery explosion centered around the half-drow. Izz'vyll and the other drow were blown back and burned badly. After many moments of silence and stillness Izz'vyll stirred. Soot covered every surface within the area of the explosion and fire lingered in many places threatening to spread. Izz'vyll coughed loudly and sat up slowly. Blackened, split flesh covered half of his body. His whole left side was burnt beyond recognition. He stood and walked over to Kel'zek. There was a ring where nothing was burned centered around the baby half-drow. Izz'vyll scooped up the child and held him up. He stared into the child's eyes. "Kel'zek." He said and after a moment added "Lynrak." Izz'vyll held the baby in his burned left hand and picked up and sheathed his sword with his unharmed right hand. "You have just earned a meager life, swine." He said to the child. "And a family name."

Prologue – Part two: The Forest

There was more to the darkness of the Raal forest than simple lack of light. The darkness smothered breath and scent and sound as well as light. It dragged at the very souls of any traveler unfortunate enough to find themselves wandering between the blood-red trunks of the Scil trees that existed only in the Raal forest. There was a kind of perverted magic in the darkness of the Raal. Clerical powers seemed to fail, all except the most powerful clerics of a goodly god would find their powers totally useless in the never-ending darkness. Dark illusions and mirages led astray those who dared to venture in the Raal. Though most wanderers of the Raal are more likely to be slaves of the drow and their twisted games. They would stage an escape and then hunt down the slaves for fun. Screams of unimaginable agony resounded throughout the forest and even beyond its edges cowing surrounding towns, and convincing them to leave the drow menace untouched. This was the home of Kel'zek Lynrak.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One – In the Forest

I live among monsters. They take the form of sentient beings but they are truly only monsters. Their minds are filled with darkness and chaos and all they hope to gain is more power. But once in a million lifetimes there is one ray of light among the eternal dark that is drow society. My father was that one light streak. He was extinguished like an unwanted candle the night I was born. The drow never spared a single detail when telling me of my parents. There is no sense of preserving childhood innocence among the drow. It is actually the opposite of that. From the moment a drow is born he is mentally battered by the million brutalities of the drow until she finally snaps and becomes one of them. Some fight against the madness and chaos for a time, some embrace it wholly from the beginning. My father fought the ways of the drow until the moment of his death. He courted a young female human slave and eventually their labor bore fruit. Me. I was born of a Drow father and Human mother. I am an outcast to drow society. A second class citizen. As if it wasn't enough for me to be a second class race I was also a male. If it wasn't for my natural talents I would have been murdered in a dark grove of trees decades ago and no one would have confronted the murderer. Some would even have congratulated her, for it surely would have been a female. Drow Females are larger and stronger than drow males. They hold all the positions of power in drow society. And any one of them would have gladly seen me on the ground bleeding to death at the tip of her blade or whip. A murder in the Raal forest, if committed by a drow, will not be investigated. As long as you aren't caught no one cares. This was not a great upbringing for one who has a natural conscience that cannot be cut out by brutal drow ways. And on the eve of my 20th birthday I finally found a chance to escape my captivity.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter two – Escape?

That morning I awoke with the splash of a bucket of cold water on my dark-skinned face. I jumped, reaching physically for my swords and mentally for my magic. My hands slapped against my waist, my swordbelt hanging on the wall of my room. I remembered that I was at my home. I calmed instantly, but remained wary. You never know what might happen among the Drow. I stood to face the man who had entered my room. The right side of his face was smooth and handsome, the hair falling down that side of his face long and stark white. The left side of his face was permanently scarred by fire. The hair on his left side had been burned away long ago and half his scalp was bare. There was a fire of hatred in his eyes as he stared me down.

"Izz'vyll." I said looking him in the eyes. "For what pleasure have you come to awaken me yourself?"

"Be quiet and follow me, child!" He hissed and turned away. He began walking away down the long corridor. The corridor was large and sparsely lit. Like all drow dwellings within the Raal forest it was created out of living Scil trees. Young Scil saplings would be found and a drow would weave a dark enchantment over it. The tree would grow rapidly and mould itself into the shape of a home, or whatever building the drow desired. I grabbed my swordbelt off the wall and buckled it onto my waist, then followed Izz'vyll down the corridor. Izz'vyll glanced back and saw me lagging behind. "Hurry!" He said angrily.

"Where are we going, anyway?" I asked.

"I told you to be quiet, didn't I?" He replied pointedly.

"You did. Yet still I spoke." I said rebelliously. "Now I would like an answer." He turned on me drawing his swords and said

"Insolent worm!"

"Stay your sword!" I commanded, putting a slight force of magic behind the words. He faltered for a moment and I took the opportunity to whip one of my swords to his throat and call to my other hand a ball of fire. "I only want to know where we are going. No one must die for that." I said calmly. A deep growl escaped his throat.

"Fine." He said reluctantly. "We are going to the Festival of Mir." My sword drooped away from his throat.

"Festival of Mir." I repeated in a whisper. My eyes fell to the floor and concentration furrowed my brow. "To honor Halaeri the pretender." I looked into Izz'vyll's eyes and saw a raging fire of hatred. He threw himself at me, knocking me to the ground. As he stood over me holding his sword to my throat several other drow marched into the now cramped hallway.

"Tie up this heretic!" He ordered. "He will be our main sacrifice." As the words escaped his lips he turned and strode confidently out the door at the end of the hall. The drow guards proceeded to tie me up in preparation for the ritual. I offered no resistance. As they finished tying me one of them slipped a sleep dart into my neck. Consciousness faded as the poison took hold.

As my eyes fluttered awake I looked down and saw that I had been strapped to a pillar before a dark altar. The pillar and altar stood in a lightless clearing deep in the Raal forest. I knew it to be the sacrificial clearing. Light seemed to distort and bend around the altar, almost as if it was draining the already insubstantial light from its surroundings. It seemed to be made of some kind of obsidian or other black stone. As my vision came back completely I could see dark robed figures arranged about the altar. A scream tore at the air beside me, yet was strangely mute. I turned to see a smaller pillar on my right with a human slave strapped to it as I was to my pillar. I turned to the left and saw another pillar with a young drow female strapped to it. I had seen her before. She was one of the priestesses. Her head drooped spilling her brilliant white hair over her angular dark elven face. Her dress was torn in a few places when she had tried to avoid capture earlier that day. She looked up and I noticed a rag stuffed into her mouth to keep her from casting any spells. I saw movement in front of me and my eyes were torn away from the unlucky servant. One of the priestesses had moved forward to the altar and began chanting. The air began to darken and stiffen around me as the priestess continued to chant. I struggled against my ropes but they only tightened around my wrists, digging in to my flesh. I looked around for a method of escape seeing nothing useful to me. That was when I realized they hadn't gagged me. I gathered magical energy in my mind, calling upon the draconic power in my blood and with a word long, sharp dragon's claws grew from my fingers. I quickly cut myself down from the pillar and landed in front of the surprised priestess. I looked to the two other captives and used one of my many spells to take control of the ropes holding them. I tore the ropes away from them and flung them at two drow guards approaching me. The ropes wrapped around the guards tying them up and immobilizing them. A bright flash caught my attention then as a ray of light sprang from the formerly tied up priestess's hand. It blasted through the darkness and struck the priestess standing before me in the chest. The priestess flew backwards and crashed into the large group of drow attending the ceremony. Those drow that were not knocked down by the priestess grouped together and formed battle positions. I looked around and saw my swords resting against a tree across the clearing. I reached out to them and they flew to my hands with a simple spell as I released my magical claws. Izz'vyll stepped out of the formation and stalked toward me.

"You dare disrupt the festival!" He screamed. "I shall end your miserable life!" And with that he charged at me, drawing his sword as he came, and began a furious attack routine. I raised my right hand sword to deflect his overhand cut and throw out his sword wide. Using the opening I rushed in with my other sword cutting a shallow scratch across his stomach. He brought his sword down and went for a thrust to my midsection. I sidestepped and lashed out with my left hand blade. He moved his sword to intercept at just the right moment and spun to face me. Beside my personal battle the drow cleric I had freed fought several priestesses at once. A battle of wills and magic. Light and darkness flowed around them and wounds appeared and disappeared second by second on all involved. Izz'vyll charged me again and this time I sheathed my left hand sword and raised a shield of magical energy between us. With his sword prepared for a thrust he crashed headlong into my shield. After he regained his balance he jumped around the shield only to find that I had moved it into his way once again. "Move this accursed construct and fight me, coward!" He growled. Ignoring his outburst letting my mind move the shield on instinct alone I turned my full attention and concentration on a spell to get us out. I gathered magical energy, overpowering a simple spell. I shaped the energy in my mind, defining it's specific purpose. After I was finished shaping the spell I paused for a moment.

"Fair Cleric, Shield your eyes!" I yelled to the woman battling with me. I just saw her stop battling and cover her face with her arms, trusting me completely, and then I released the spell. Brilliant light burst out from my body, dimmed slightly by the nature of the forest. All the drow in the clearing screamed in unison and covered their blinded light-sensitive eyes. Many fell to the ground and those that didn't stumbled dumbly around the clearing. "Now my friend! We must flee! Into the forest!" I yelled to the cleric. We ran off together into the forest and with a combined effort we completely covered our tracks, physical and magical. After running for what felt like an hour we stopped for a rest. I immediately got to work creating a useable shelter. I created a small hut with a magical spell then rendered it invisible and set an invisible alarm on the surrounding area. After I was finished I used a spell to mask the magical aura of my spells to fit in with the natural aura of the forest. When I finished our shelter I sat down, exhausted. "So." I said to the cleric resting beside me. "What is your name?"

"Faercyrl." She replied.

"Why were you to be sacrificed at the festival? What wrong did you do?" I asked, curious.

"No wrong except by the standards of the drow. I was true to myself and found a different god than Halaeri the pretender." She answered.

"And for that they would have killed you…. Then it is good we have left them. I have made a secure shelter for us. You should rest. We head out in the morning to be gone from this accursed forest." I said pointing to the invisible hut. Faercyrl turned to me and looked into my eyes, her face solemn.

"What name may I call you that I can thank my savior properly?" She asked.

"My name is Kel'zek Lynrak. You can call me Kel." I replied. She bowed to the ground before me.

"Kel'zek Lynrak, my savior, I hereby pledge myself to your companionship and service for all eternity. I swear myself to you as your personal vassal, and take you as my personal lord to serve to the best of my abilities." I stared at her stunned for a few seconds, trying to process what had just happened. Finally I was able to respond.

"I accept your pledge of fealty and in view of all goodly gods swear that I will not abuse you as my vassal, and will protect you with all my power. Now go get some sleep. Thats an order."

I awoke the next morning on the small cot I had made for myself inside the bare shelter. I looked to my side where Faercyrl had slept and saw that she was already awake. I quickly arose and rushed out of the shelter, afraid she had left the magical shieldings I had created. When I burst out of the tent Faercyrl, who was sitting quietly just inside the invisible shield, turned surprisedly towards me with a look of fear on her face.

"What is it?" She whispered intently.

"Nothing" I said "I was afraid you had left the area of magical protection."

"Oh, no I might have only been a slave but I am not that ignorant of magic." She said. If it wasn't for the disarming smile she wore I would have thought she was scolding me. I looked deeper into her eyes and found a surprising kindness. Almost motherly. "Kel'zek…." she started.

"Please." I interrupted her suddenly. "Just call me Kel." She smiled again.

"Kel" She corrected "I was wondering. Do you think we will be able to escape?" She looked down then quickly looked back up into my eyes. "I know your spells are powerful, but still…." She looked down again. Fear clouded her usually happy eyes. I put my hand on her shoulder. She looked up to my face. I put on the bravest face I could but I'm not so sure it was very convincing.

"Don't worry. We will get out of this. One way or another." I said trying to comfort her.

"I hope so." She said. Then everything went dark in a puff of black smoke.


End file.
